Global Trends and Thematic Evolution in Nursing Communication Skills Research: A Bibliometric Analysis of the Past 20 Years

Abstract

Bibliometric characteristics of research on communication skills in nursing were analyzed via the Biblioshiny interface within the R programming language. The dataset comprised 27,217 studies indexed in the Web of Science between 2006 and 2026. Document counts, author contributions, and thematic clusters were analyzed to map the intellectual structure of the field. Results indicate a consistent upward trajectory in scientific production, peaking in 2025. The most frequent terms were communication,~care, and~nurses, which define the field’s conceptual core, while the prominence of palliative care and oncology suggests that research activity is concentrated in high-acuity clinical contexts. The United States and Australia led in corresponding author contributions; the prevalence of single-country publications points to limited international collaboration. The literature increasingly treats communication skills as a factor linked to clinical outcomes and patient safety rather than solely as a professional attribute.